1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to liquid applicators in general and more particularly to a roller applicator having a removable applicator surface.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
Paints and other liquid or semi-liquid substances have been developed over the years for multitudes of purposes. Paints are used to provide a protective and decorative coating to interior and exterior building walls. Liquid glues are utilized to bond two surfaces in permanent or semi-permanent contact. Various brushes were developed to assist in applying these substances in a controlled and regulated manner in order to spread the substance over the application surface and to provide a relatively uniform coating thickness. Most commonly, the surface to which the substance is to be applied is relatively large and flat, such as the wall of a room or a building exterior, and the use of a brush becomes a very time consuming effort.
In order to more efficiently apply these coatings, an apparatus was developed that facilitated covering a larger area in a shorter period of time while simultaneously applying a more uniform coat of the substance. The apparatus that was developed has become widely known and used, and is commonly known as a ‘paint roller.’ The roller, which usually has a “T” shaped frame wherein the stem of the “T” includes a grip to serve as a handle for the user. The top bar of the “T” generally has a structure resembling a wire cage that freely rotates about the axis of the top bar, and a cylindrical sleeve that is telescopically received over the structure. The cylindrical sleeve is typically rigid for durability and support and has a fibrous or porous outer layer. In use, the outer layer of the cylinder is introduced to the coating substance contained in an appropriately sized reservoir such that the entire fibrous or porous outer surface absorbs a portion of the substance. The roller is then transferred to the surface on which the substance is intended to coat and maneuvered to distribute the substance in the manner desired by the user.
Upon completion of the coating process, the user is faced with the task of cleaning the roller. While the sleeve is removable from the frame allowing the frame to be readily cleaned, the task is much more difficult for the cleaning the sleeve. Since the outer surface of the sleeve is porous or fibrous, it typically retains a significant amount of the coating substance within the pores or fibers. The coating substance must be removed if the sleeve is desired to be reused for a subsequent task. The removal of the substance from the fibrous or porous material generally involves utilizing a rigid edge of some kind to squeegee out the majority of the coating substance and then to thoroughly rinse the cylinder in an appropriate solvent to remove the remaining coating substance. Since the fibrous or porous material is permanently fixed to the rigid sleeve, this task is awkward at best and can be very difficult to almost impossible at worst when the knap of the fibrous material is relatively deep. Often, when a roller sleeve is attempted to be cleaned not all of the coating substance is removed and subsequently dries leaving an inferior surface for its subsequent reuse. Although sleeves are generally sufficiently sturdy for reuse, many users become frustrated with the process of cleaning the sleeve and treat them as one-time use items and then discard the sleeves upon completion of the coating task. This is an inefficient use of resources and can result in considerable expense when compared to cleaning and reusing sleeves.
Thus what is desired is an application roller wherein the fibrous or porous layer on the roller is readily removable and can be easily cleaned for reuse.